MORNING BID EUROPE-A restrained EU anniversary party

* A look at the day ahead from European Economics and Politics Editor Mark John and EMEA chief markets correspondent Jamie McGeever. The views expressed are their own.

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 9 (Reuters) - Today is the 25th anniversary of the European summit accord in a southern Dutch town that gave its name to the Maastricht Treaty. This was the pact that created the European Union as we know it today, laying the groundwork for the euro but also giving the club a new set of political ambitions and enshrining EU citizens' rights to move freely throughout the region. For many in Britain's Conservative Party, it was one European deal too far, creating the internal divisions that ex-PM David Cameron sought to heal with his "once in a lifetime" referendum in June. Instead that vote dealt the biggest body blow to the European project in its lifetime. The official celebrations in Maastricht today, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other luminaries attending, are likely to be fairly restrained.

UK officials are meanwhile playing down an FT report that Brexit minister David Davis said in a private meeting with the City of London Corporation that he was "not really interested" in a transitional deal to cushion the country from the effects of leaving the European Union. The FT, citing a memo of the mid-November meeting, said Davis would consider a transitional deal only in order to "be kind" to the EU - which, if true, would be a bizarre mis-reading of the mood in other European capitals. The government has said the article does not reflect the official view; this Reuters exclusive this morning shows how the banks themselves are on transitional arrangements to cushion the blow of Brexit (http://reut.rs/2gIbDJh)

MARKETS AT 0755 GMT

The ECB pulled off quite a feat yesterday, announcing it will taper its bond purchases next year to 60 bln euros a month from 80 bln, while at the same time extending the QE programme and thereby injecting hundreds of billions more stimulus into the system. Confused? The market certainly was, at least initially, as the euro and bond yields spiked sharply. That soon reversed, and the euro tumbled more than 2 cents. So the extended QE programme right through to the end of next year is trumping the reduction in monthly purchases. The ECB will no doubt welcome that, as well as the yield curve steepening to its highest in 18 months. This offers timely relief to the euro zone's banks, especially for Italy's banking sector. The widening gap between long-term and shorter-term yields recently has boosted bank shares - European and Italian financials are up 15 percent this week, their best week in five years. European stocks in general are on course for their best week since February, following in the slipstream of Wall Street soaring to record highs.

Upcoming events/data/ themes for market reports on Friday:

* French industrial production (Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) )

* German trade balance (Oct)

* UK trade balance (Oct)

* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, inflation expectations (Dec)

(Editing by x x)